Whitening eggs



EEEEEEEEEE beam WHITENING EGGS James D. Ingle, Chicago, Ill., assignor to Industrial Patents Corporation, Chicago, 111., a corporation of Delaware No Drawing. Application Serial No.

6 Claims. (Cl. 99-230) This invention relates to the treatment of shell eggs and has to do particularly with a method of improving the color of egg shells.

It is well known that some eggs have a natural color, such as bufi. The color of egg shells in many cases aiTects the marketability of the eggs. Many consumers prefer white shell eggs, although the color of the shell does not affect the quality of the egg material.

The principal object of this invention is to provide a method of decolorizing or improving the color of colored egg shells without affecting the egg material.

The present invention contemplates treatment of colored shell eggs with a reducing agent whereby the color of the egg shell is substantially improved or whitened.

It has been found that reducing agents remove from the egg shell the bloom which is a protein material containing the color. The reducing agent causes a disintegration and removal of the bloom.

Any suitable reducing agent may be used, although I prefer to use those having a substantial solubility in water. Examples of reducing agents are: Lykopon (Na2s204), sulfurous acid, Rongalite (formaldehyde sulfoxalate) sodium stancases to help neutralize any left by the reducing agent.

The solution of the Any wetting agent which is not destroyed or whose usefulness is not impaired by the presence of a strong acid is satisfactory for October 30, 1940, 363,491

such as the commercial product "Santomerse, sulphated esters of higher alcohols and dibasic acids, such as the commercial product Aerosol, and the like.

The amount of reducing agent is not critical, but in practice I prefer to use a solution containing from 0.1 per cent to 10 per cent, although concentrations up to 30 or 40 per cent of reducing agent are contemplated. Usually solutions of about 2.5 per cent are used. The most satisfactory reducing agents are solutions of Lykopon, Rongalite and sodium stannite.

I have found that solutions containing 2 per cent Lykopon or 2 per cent Rongalite or 5 per cent sodium stannite produce satisfactory results for the purposes of my invention.

As an example of the operation the eggs are immersed in of s to ten minutes or more and then washed with water. Bulf colored shell eggs treated in accordance with this invention may be changed to a substantially white color comparable to that of the usual white color of egg shells.

Qbviously many modifications and variations of the invention hereinbefore set forth may be made without departmg from the spirit and scope thereof, and therefore only such limitations as are indicated in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A method of improving the color of shell eggs having a relatively dark natural color, which taining protein.

2. A method of treating naturally colored shell eggs to lighten the color, which comprises treatfrom the surface of the shells.

4!. A method according to claim 2 in which the reducing agent is sodium hyposulfite.

5. A method according to claim 2 in which the reducing agent is formaldehyde sulfoxalate.

6. A method according to claim 2 in which the reducing agent is sodium stannite.

JAMES D. INGLE. 

